You're Gonna Let Me In
by Spontaneous Muse
Summary: She was the new transfer student - and probably the most troublesome person he, the unwilling Class Rep, had ever had to deal with. Implied rape. Shikatema. Oneshot with potential of expanding/becoming a twoshot. Modern Day!AU.


_Re-upload because original description was weird and I somehow forgot to tag Shikamaru and Temari into the fic hahah... what._

_Another prompt off tumblr for the angst writing meme going around. _

_Just want to apologize for the portrayal of mental illness, I had to liken the jinchuuriki business to something in this modern world. _

_I really liked this AU, definitely keep eyes out in case this becomes a multichapter or if I write a part two. _

.::[::]::.

**Y**ou're Gonna Let me In

[shikatema and "please come get me."]

He didn't willingly give her his number, in fact she had all but stolen his phone one morning during class and put it in. And when she had handed the phone back to him it came with this ridiculous smile, so much that he sighed loudly and wondered why she bothered in the first place. After all, she was a transfer student and wasn't exactly staying around for long, but as soon as she pieced together _he _was class rep did she seem to decide it was her sworn duty to follow him around, firing questions like a machine gun, to which he answered with practiced laziness that only seemed to rile her further.

There wasn't much interaction via phone, though, but as they continued to talk in school, he had to admit that he started to warm up to her. Maybe it was those ridiculous grins, or the way in which she didn't hesitate to _beat the crap_ out of people who looked at her twice (maybe it's an country thing? He didn't know – he was a city boy) that somehow managed to captivate him, despite him finding her all too troublesome and probably not worth the effort.

So when the text came to his phone did he freeze for a moment. The message was curt, even the tone he read it in was almost bitingly sarcastic. But somehow he knew.

He threw the phone to his ear, the number already dialing. His mother asked where he was going but he merely shouted 'out' behind his shoulder as he hastily ran out his door, grabbing his bike along the way. When it connected, her voice was still strong but he could detect the slightest of trembles.

"Where are you?" he said, unable to keep his voice from shaking when she swallowed thickly. She hesitated, probably trying to read the street signs, and he sighed and told her to wait where she was.

When he found her he could see her trying hard to not look put off, the only tell was her jiggling foot and how her eyes, normally calm, darted back and forth suspiciously.

"Temari-san?" he said gently, pulling the bike closer to her Their eyes locked and her own were wide and almost blank but upon seeing his face did her gaze seem to sharpen and regain the usual edge.

She rubbed the back of her neck and she sheepishly said, "I'm lost."

His eyes raked over her body language – something even she couldn't hide. Judging by her defensive stance, it was more than being _lost_. What did she escape from? Maybe someone who was stronger than her? For a moment, that seemed almost unlikely – who was stronger than this crazy woman anyway?

But when his eyes raked over her body, he realized he was much more perspective to the little things – like the curve of her waist, the softness and slightly tanned complexion of her neck. The way her chest rose and fell as she took labored breaths.

Even though she was troublesome, she still _was_ a girl.

And this was the city – not everyone was necessarily safe in the dead of night.

He briefly wondered how anyone could be stronger than her, but then chided himself when there definitely _were_ people who could take her. People with the least pure intentions, too. Sudden irritation flared at his stomach, and he didn't really know why, but he felt his hands ball into fists and suddenly he just wanted to keep an eye on her, make sure nothing bad happened to her, make sure she was _safe_.

She coughed lightly and he blinked, his vision readjusting as she stared fixedly at him. He then realized he was trying to clutch onto him, maybe to keep herself concentrated on _him_ so she could get over whatever turmoil she had within her. Only when she pushed off the wall and was dangerously close to putting her head on his shoulder did he shift awkwardly and rub the back of his neck as she balanced on her two feet.

"Why don't we go back to the street?" he suggested lightly, to which she agreed to, and as their paces matched up their hands knocked together, each bump sending light shivers up his spine and heat to his cheeks. Before he even knew what he was doing, his hand clumsily slipped into hers, and to his surprise, he didn't recoil.

His mind suddenly caught up to his body and reeled back. _Wait, what am I doing, if she was just, oh god, I shouldn't._ Their fingers were already entwined when he tested to see if he could wiggle his hand out, but she only clutched on tighter. Affirmed by what she wanted, he sighed and relaxed his grip before tightening it protectively over hers.

Their silence was somehow comfortable, even though he was used to her nagging him about _something_, but she suddenly sighed and buried her chin into her sweater. "I'm so useless."

"No you're not," he shot back reflexively, his grip on her hand tightening instinctively as small sparks began their upward climb on his spine.

"Yeah, I am!" She laughed to herself, hollow and almost broken. "What kind of a girl has batophobia _and_ mazeophobia?"

He blinked. Wait, fears of _tall buildings _and _getting lost_? Then why was she living in _Tokyo_? The questions built on his tongue but he bit them back, his amazement almost clouding over the fact that – "I thought you were ra-"

The pointed look she gave him stopped him mid sentence and he rubbed the back of his neck self consciously. "Um, then why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"Tell everyone that the girl who moved to the city is afraid of the two _most common things here_? That she's this way because _her brother has a mental illness_? No thanks." The hollowness of her voice was enough for him to deduce the situation.

She moved because her brother needed professional help. She wanted to appear strong, probably for her brothers and for her own self-esteem. She didn't want to have to rely on others, even when she was in such a strange environment that probably caused her a lot of grief.

He sighed.

What a troublesome woman.

"Well, I guess there's no helping it. From now on, I'll be your guide." She looked up at him so fast he almost missed it, surprise and even a little embarrassment colouring her face as she blinked. When their eyes met, he almost looked away out of reflex but found himself beginning to get lost in those teal eyes. He was all of the sudden too aware of their linked hands and the way her face began to fill with gratitude (and a bit of smugness).

"Because you're class rep?" she teased lightly.

He squeezed their hands. "Something like that."

.::[::]::.

_I tried to imply / was going to explicitly state that Temari's fears came from Gaara himself. _

_It didn't turn out as angsty as I originally planned, but hey, it's somewhat light-hearted, so it's all good. _

_If you enjoyed, leave a review on your way out!_

_- muse ._


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